Personal Finance

If there’s one issue that makes my blood boil, it’s the high charge that consumers face for loyalty in financial services.

There are laws against bribery. Luckily they don’t apply to banks wanting to bung you free money in return for your custom.

With financial markets hitting the headlines, our investment team has been analysing an eventful year for investors and considering what may be in store.

Getting your finances in order and in line is one of the most important decisions you will make.

After several decades of gainful employment, you have every right to expect a long and happy retirement.

Political upheaval and dramatic headlines focus investors’ minds on what’s happening right now and close to home.

With the age at which people can claim state pension in the UK gradually increasing, many individuals will have to work longer than they would have expected at the outset of their career.

It is a disturbing time for UK investors. Headlines about the UK economy – now one of the worst-performing among the world’s major markets – are increasingly negative.

It never ceases to amaze me how varied and unusual problems with pets can be. I’ve helped sort out pet insurance claims over the years on everything from parrots that can’t balance, dogs whose legs give way when they run too fast and cats with some pretty scary personality disorders. One thing is for sure; in Britain, we really love our pets. And if they get ill, then we’ll do all we can to help them.

Last year, families spent around £820 on Christmas typically, previous research from VoucherCodes.co.uk and the Centre of Retail Research suggests. Many households will have put their Christmas on credit – but by planning ahead, it’s possible to build a pot of cash and make savings here and there that will stop you having to fork out more than you need to.

Retiring from work was traditionally something that people expected to do around the age of 65, when they would say goodbye to their colleagues and head off to spend more time with their family, on the golf course, or travelling with the pension pot they had built up over many years.

Bob Hair of Cazenove Capital some tips on teaching children healthy saving and spending habits.

The nights are drawing in and energy prices on the rise, so before the chill really kicks in, now’s the time to see if there are savings to be made.

Brace yourself.  ­Energy bills are about to be hit by a double whammy. The big firms are all putting their ­prices up (again) and many of the cheapest deals you can switch to have been pulled. Let me be plain – now is the time to switch before winter. Every week’s delay risks you paying more.